In early February, the United States had shot down multiple foreign objects that had been caught flying over the United States with an unknown reason. 

On Feb. 4, 2023, the United States shot down a Chinese Spy Balloon over the coast of South Carolina. According to NPR, a State Department stated that the balloon was a part of a “fleet” of Chinese balloons that had happened to wander off from the rest. However, China claimed that the balloon was a civilian airship that had accidentally gotten lost on accident. The balloon was first discovered flying over Montana, and then took a flight path over the rest of the Midwest, and was finally shot down over South Carolina. 

On Feb. 10, 2023, a United States fighter jet shot down an object said to be around the size of a small car over Alaska. This event happened in less than a week since the Chinese Spy Balloon was shot down. According to CNN, pilots were sent up to examine the balloon, and different accounts were given out what they saw. Due to the unsureness of what the object actually was, the Pentagon has been hesitant to release any information regarding the object. 

On Feb. 12, 2022, an unidentified object was shot down by a fighter jet over Lake Huron. Not much information is known about this object, as the the head of NORAD and the US Northern Command denied to release information about the object. 

Many in the United States were on edge after these objects were shot down, but this is not the first time in recent years that there have been objects that have flown over the United State’s skies. According to CNN, a total of three suspected Chinese spy balloons were flown over the United States during the Trump administration. 

Senior Cohen Paxton shares a first hand account after witnessing the Chinese Spy Balloon being shot down. 

“I was at the beach touring a college [and] there was some people on the road taking videos of [the balloon.] My mom and I did not really believe it, [and] we did not really know what was going on.” said Paxton. “We went to a store and heard a loud bang and the building shook and we came outside and fight pilots had shot it down. We got to witness something pretty cool and it was a pretty cool experience.” 

After the Chinese spy balloon was shot down, debris was cleaned up and collected, and the remains were studied. Sensors from the balloon were recovered, and it is said that the balloon was used for surveillance and espionage purposes.